Know Thyself... And Thy Enemy

Overhead Squat

2-2-2-2-2

Not sure what my last successful 2 rep set was... I kept goofing up my second rep today (balance). I know I did 150# once... failed at 160#. Then we did:

50 du's

2 hspu's

40 du's

4 hspu's

30 du's

6 hspu's

20 du's

8 hspu's

10 du's

10 hspu's

I thought I could do this thing rx'd since my du PR was in the fifties, but I could get past the thirties after 3 attempts so I scaled to 35-25-20-15-10. I did all the hspu's as rx'd with 1 abmat. That was my first time to complete a WOD with only 1... wahoo! Took me forever to do it though... 19:51 total.

Make Me Hurt So Good

Deadlift
3-3-3-3-3

275-295-315-325-335

335 is a PR!... 320 was my last 1 rep max. Progress feeeeels good! The 'ol groin didn't give me any problems either.
The cookie was tabata row with a 20:10 ratio. I kept my all my intervals above 100m until the last 2 which measured in at 98m each. This thing was a lung and quad toaster oven. Tolbert KILLED it btw... he actually moved the row machine back about a foot until it hit stopper. Great stuff.
Today was also Dave's last day at the CFDC before he travels to Seattle for an educational opportunity... can't wait to travel up there to visit.

weight: 173.0

Slice Like A Ninja, Cut Like A Razor Blade

Helen
3 rounds for time of:
400m run
21 kettlebell swings, 1.5 pood
12 pull-ups

I always get a sick feeling when I see this WOD. Maybe because it's an absolute gut-wrencher. Maybe because it was my very first CrossFit WOD and it left a lasting impression. Maybe it's because I dated a girl named Helen that ripped my heart out. Whatever the reason Helen gives me the hibby-jibbies. I suppose the good news is that I 've made steady progress against her everytime we've met.
Today I ALMOST went unbroken. KB swings and pull-ups were solid until the third round. On third round KBs I stopped at 15, took a breath, and then knocked out the remaining 6. Third round pull-ups were similiar... pulled 9 then struggled with the remaining 3.
On the runs I just tried to stay relaxed, find a pace, and keep it. Nothing spectacular here, but in the future I'll need to get faster on the runs if I wanna see any kind of significant time improvement. I don't think much more time will be shaved of the two other movements even if I'm able to do all reps unbroken. Maybe another 15 seconds? Maybe more if I can get a fluid butterfly kip going...

Today's time: 9:18
I sliced 1:22 off my previous PR of 10:40.
Golden.

This Is Necessary...

Overhead Squat
1-1-1-1-1-1-1

I topped out at 150# which is a new PR for me... a 20# PR at that. I felt comfortable doing these today, my left shoulder stayed strong (and up) and I never came up on my toes. All in all I am satisfied with my progress... can't wait to put up some legit numbers though.

Speaking of legit, Dutch Lowy was in the box today... I was super geekin too. I wanted to ask him to autograph my titty but I couldn't find a marker. Maybe next time.

Hot Date

Fran

21-15-9
95# Thrusters
pull-ups

Today was my first ever Fran and I gotta say I was pretty nervous walking into the gym today. From my experience Fran is the most infamous WOD and most commonly discussed benchmark time when comparing CrossFitters. My goal was a sub-7 minute time and both sets of 21 completed unbroken. Mission Success.
I went unbroken through the first round and pulled a 6:18. The second set of thruster was just plain nasty though. My legs were shaking like a naked 80 year old man standing in a deep freeze. I stuck with it though and gave myself a starting place for measuring improvement.
I did do a "Heavy Fran" in April which I scaled down to 95#. In that WOD we only did sets of 15-12-9 and I still clocked in a 9:49, although I did do half the pull-ups with a 20# dumbell. I'd still say this is a significant improvement for such a short time frame. CrossFit FTW.

weight: 175.8

Howlin' At The Moon

Press
5-5-5-5-5

I warmed-up/worked-up to 105# then stayed there through all 5 working sets. Each set was finished with the kind of slow, suffering reps that seem so impossible when your in the middle of the effort, but are super gratifying when you stick through the pain and complete the movement.

The 105# is very weak, but the good news is that it was my 1 rep max just a few short months ago and now I'm "tossin" it up 5 reps at a time. I do need to be more mindful of my lumbar curve during this movement, I felt some strain in my upper low back towards the end of the WOD.

The hot topic in the gym today was the three wolf tee which Sam Z wore during the WOD. The power this majestic garment bestows is immeasurable... Hell, even the Washington Post picked up on it:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/21/AR2009052104472.html?g=0

lol redic